Starting device for internal-combustion engines.



SHEETS-SHEET 1.

D. E. CROUSE. STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1912. H 1,090,600. Patent I Mar.11,'1914.

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STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 5, 1912.

1,090,600 Patented Mar. 1?, 19m

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ATTORNEYS UNITED STATES PATENT oFFIoE.

DAVID E. CROUSE, OF ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND, ASSIGNOR T0 THE AU-T0 AIRAPPLI- AN CE COMPANY, OF. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND, A CORPORATION OFMARYLAND.

STARTING DEVICE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES.

Specification of Letters Batent. :Patented Maj. 17,1914.

Application filed April 5, 1912. Serial No. 688,584.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, DAVID E.- Cnoosn, a citizen of the United States,and a resident of Annapolis, in the county of Anne Arlindel and State ofMaryland, have made certain new and usefullmprovements in Start 'ingDevices for Internal-Combustion Enines, of which the following is. aspeci; cation. I 1 My invention relates to lmprovements in startingdevices for internal combustion en-' glues and 1t conslstsm theconstructions,- combinations, and arrangements hereln deprovide a devicewhich may be started from any point by the merecompressing of anelectric push button, thesubsequent operation of the device serving tostart the internal combustion engine and to restore the startingmechanism to its normal position. A further object of my invention is toprovide a pinion and a yielding rackmem her for engagement therewith,which will when the'engine starts up suddenly.

' A further object of my invention is to provide means fol-withdrawingthe rack from engagement with the pinion immediately on the'starting ofthe engine.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will be particularly pointed outin theappendedclaims.

My invention isillustrated in, the accompa'nying drawings forming partof this' application in which i Figure 1 is a sectional view through thedeviceshowing the rack in it's normal position, Fig. 2 is an end view ofthe device,

prevent a jerk or jar of the rack support Fig. 3 is a. sectional 'view,showing the cir-,

cuit breaking device carried by the rack, Fig. 41. is a sectional viewshowing the cam member for forcing the rack toward the pinion, Fi 5 is adetail View of a ortion of the rec when in. engagement withthe pinion,Fig. 6 is a side View of the device showihg the rack at the end of itsstroke,

Fig; 7 1s a section along theiline 7 -7 of .Fig. ,6, and Fig. 8 is adiagrammatic view of the circuit'connections.

In carrying out my invention I provide a main cylinder 1 having thereina piston 2;, The p ston rod 3 is hollow; It extends through the-upperend'of the cylinder, is bent at 3 support 4 of the rack frame. Thelatters provided with a passage 5 for establishmg communication with theinterior of the and 3 and connects with the rack cylinder 6, which iscarried by the member 4, and which is provided with a piston 7. Thelatter is always under the pressure of a spring 8.

f The rack itself consists of two'portionsthe latter being dovetailed soas to slide within the 'portion 9, as shown in Fig. 2. The lower end ofthe member 9 is provided with laterally extending brackets 9*. and 9".-

A contact pin has a portion 11 arranged to slide through the bracket 9"and is provided with a reduced portion 1-1 arranged to slide in thebracket 9, as shown in Fig. 3. A contact 13 is provided anda spring 12normally holds the reduced portion. 11 away from the contact. 13.In'Fi'g. 1, it will be seen that the rack rests directly on. the portion11 of the-pin, but the spring is designed'to be strong enough toseparate the contacts 11" and 13 unless the rack mema base portion 9 and'a slidable portion 10;

her 10 suddenly comes into contact with the I portion 11 of the pin in amanner explained later.

Therack is carried upon a frame con sisting, of the end: members 14 and15, and

.the connecting member 16. The members 14 and 15 pass through thesupport 4 and slidably support the rack. cylinder 1 is abracket 17 inwhich is "pivotally mounted a cam member 18. This cam member is normallyheld by a spring '19 against a stop 20, It is designed to be engaged bya pin 21 on the rack member 9, so as to push the rack toward the pinionwhen moving in one direction, but to be pushed out of the way by thepinf21 when it returns. At one end of the cylinder 1 is a magneticallycontrolledvalve. This consists of a solenoid 22 having a core '23provided at one end with a conducting; arm 24 which is insulated fromthe core- 23, but 'which is ada ted to effect the closure of a locki'ncircuit as will be hereinafter describe Secured tothe opposite end ofthe core 23 is a valve 25 and a second valve Secured to the w v battery.

26. The first named. valve is designed to establis communication betweenthe pipe 27 and an exhaust opening 28; While the lat tcr controlscommunication between the inlet pipe 29 and the pipeQi'. Near the lowerend or the cylinder 1 is a safety device consisting of a small cylinder30 having a valve 31 disposed therein which is normally held. closed bya spring 32. The valve 31 is connected with a contact member 33. whichis normally in engagement with the contacts 3% and 35 fat its ends. Thesupport 1- is carried by brackets 36 and 37 secured to the cylinder 1,as will be seen from Fig. 2.

The circuit connections are shown in Fig. 8. In this figure B a batteryand K is a push button. The conductor 2i is arranged to'engage contacts38 and 39. It will be seen that the contacts 11" 1.3 and ien areconnected in parallel. The contacts 33, 34, 85 are also in circuit.

From the foregoing description of the various parts. of the device, theoperation thereof may be readily understood. The normal position. oi.the apparatus is that shown in Fig. 1. 1n thisposition the rack is outof alinenicnt with the pinion. The push button K is momentarily closedand current energizes the solenoid over the following path from battery13, through 452, K. 40, ll, 44;, 35, 253, 34;, back to The movement ofthe solenoid brings the conducting arm 24 into engageiicnt with thecontacts 38 and 39, thereby eii'ecting a locking circuit around thebutton K as follows: coin'lwztor 45, 39, 24, SS, 46, and back to batteryover the remainder oi the circuit just raced. The magnet 22 Will oreremain energized until the circ is broken at some point. The inlet pipenod to be connected with a source 1 ed air (not shown) and the an ortlie valve 26, due tothe energiot the solenoid 22 will connect the Awith the pipe 27, thereby permitting It will he in to enter thecylinder 1. i that the valve 25 is closed at the so, 2 time that thevalve 26 1S opened. The

. :1 through the hollow piston 3 and pushes the piston 7 in ,utwarcllyz.The rack member h-z-vvover is attached. to the rod of the pishencethc'l'il'lOlB rack is moved alinenzent with the pinion 4C7. continues toenter the pipe 27 the ow be H'AOVGd upwardly carryrack frame. At thefirst the rack trains the pin 21 will n member 18, and, will tend to itsoutwzurci movement tot will be noted that. the 2 to remain in until theteeth of slid-obie iii; now and the 1 cyiuiuicr (i rack member 10 willbe forced downwardly against the tension of the spring 12, therebybringing into engagement the contacts 11 and. 13. The circuit of thesolenoid 22 will therefore be completed through these con.- tacts afterthe contact 10 leaves the contact at]; T heupward ino'ven'ient of thereek will cause the turning of the pinion and the consequent starting ofthe engine. As soon the engine picks up. the moveinent'ot the pinion inthe direction in which the rack is moving will tend to relieve thetension on the spring 12 and. the circuit therefore Wii be broken at thecontacts li 3. The teeth of the raclt 10 are curved on one side and theengagement of the teeth of the pinion Wiil. tend to force the rackoutwardly.

is soon as the circuit is broken the solenoid will. release the contacts238. 524;, 39 and will cause the valve 25 to open and the valve 20 toclose. This will let out the compressed air within the cylinders 1 and=13. The spring 8 within the cylinder '3 Will press the rock frame awayfrom the pinion, and the Weight of the rack and the piston 2 will causethe latter to descend the air passing out through open". igs, such asthat shown at As soon as the piston reaches-the bottom of the cyl inder1 the contact i0 will be in engagement with the contact 4.1 so thatWhenever the push button it is operated the appurtus Will go through theoperation just described.

From this d ription it Will be seen that the rack is in engagement withthe teeth of the pinion only long enough to start the engine and thatimmediately on the starting of the engine the rack Will. leave thepinion. Tl. his action, as stated before, is partly causedv by theengagement of the pinion with the curved portion of the rack teeth andpartly bythc spring 8, Which pushes the piston '1' before it as the airis exhausted. When the pin :21 engages the cam member 18 on its downwardmovement, the latter is pushed aside and springs into'place again whenthe pin has passed it... In case there should be a back fire which woulddrive the pinion in the opposite direction the pressure insidethecylinder 1 would at once become veryv great. Normally the spring inthe safety cylinder 80 keeps the valve 8 on seat against the pressure ofthe ai out .Where an excess pressure comes, as for instance in thereversal of the engine. the. pressure will force the valve Slontwardly,thereby permitting an escape of air through the o ening 30 and at thesame time breaking t e circuit by the movement of the contact 33 out ofengagement with the contacts 3. and35 when the rack *wiil be withdrawnfrom the pinion in the manner described.

The convenience of having only to press a button, I regard as animportant feature of my invention, since thisbutton can be placedanywhere on a vehicle, such as an auengagement with the gear, anelectrical circuit for controlling each of said rack moving means, andcontacts carriedby the rack and formingpart of the electrical circuit,

said contacts being arranged to be sepa- 'ated by the movement of one ofsaid rack portions relatively to the other rack portion thereby breakingthe circuit. 7

In a device for starting internal combustion engines, a rack, said rackcomprising a support, a slidable member carried by said support andprovided with teethfa' pair of contacts carried'by said support, one ofsaid contact members being arranged to be engaged by the toothed portionof the rack, a spring for holding said contacts normally out ofengagement, mea as for moving the rack into alinement with the pinion,means for moving the rack into engagement with the pinion, theengagement of the rack with the pinion serving to force the contactstogether against the tension of the sprin 3. In a device for startinginternal combustion engines, a gear on the engine shaft, a 'acl;normally out of alinement with said gear, means for moving the rack intoalinement with said gear, means for moving the rack into engagement Withthe gear, magnetic controlling means for each of said rack moving means,a source of current, a pair oI contacts, one of'said contacts beingcarried by said rack, connections between said source of current, saidcontacts and said magnetic controlling means, the movement of said *aclcserving to separate said contacts, and a. second pair of contacts inmultiple with said first named contacts, the engagement of the rack withthe pinion'serving to close said second pair of contacts.

at. In a device for starting internal combustion engines, a gear on theengine shaft,

a rack normally out of aiinement with said gear, a piston for movingsaid rack into aiinement with said gear, a second piston for moving therack into engagement with the gear, auxiliary means for moving the rackinto alinenient with the gear, said auxiliary means comprising a springcontrolled pivoted cam member, a pin carried by the rack and arranged toengage said cam member, and means for holding the cam member rigidduring the engagement of the pin on one side of said cam member.

5. In a device for starting internal combustion engines, a gear on theengine shaft, a rack normally out of alinement with said gear, pneumaticmeans for moving the rack into alinement with the gear, pneumatic meansincluding a cylinder and a piston for moving the rack into engagementwith the gear, spring means for again moving the rack out of alinementwith the gear, magnetic means for controlling the pneumatic means, anenergizing circuit for said magnetic means, a spring-pressed plungerarranged to be operated by abnormal pressure Within said cylinder, andnormally closed contacts in said energizing circuit arranged to bebroken by the movement of said plan get. v

(S. In a device for starting internal eom' bustion engines, a gear onthe engine shaft, a rack normally out of alinement with said gear,pneumatic means for moving the rack into alinement with the gear,pneumatic means including a cylinder and a piston for moving the rackinto engagement with the gear, spring means for again moving the eel:out of alinement with the gear, magnetic means for controlling thepneumatic means, an energizing circuit for said magnetic means, aspring-pressed valve carried by said cylinder and arranged to open underabnormal pressure Within the cylinder to relieve such abnormal pressure,normally closed contacts in said energizingcircuit, and connectionsbetween said valve and said last-named contacts for breaking the latteron the movement of the valve,

DAVID E. (BRO-USE.

Witnesses M. C. SAUERWEIN, A. QAKSISIITH.

